Karl Snow plans to attack waste, fraud and mismanagement in the federal government as the 3rd District Congressional representative in Congress.
Snow championed a 1990 report by Citizens Against Government Waste Tuesday that estimates $305 billion could be saved by eliminating waste, fraud and mismanagement in federal programs and implementing better management and oversight of governmental programs.Snow spoke during the Provo Kiwanis luncheon at the Excelsior Hotel. Last week the Kiwanis heard Democrat Bill Orton's views on solving the nation's problems.
To reduce the federal budget deficit, Snow supports a proposal made by the Congressional Budget Office to freeze 1991 expenditures at a level no greater than 4 percent of 1990 levels.
We have revenue increase in this country of about (the same as the) previous year without touching the tax structure in any way, Snow said. "That's approximately $75 (billion) or $77 billion in increasing new revenue with doing nothing," he said. "So if we were to take 4 percent you'd give the government for increases in the 1990 budget for 1991, (it would result in) an increase of approximately $50 billion."
The remaining $25 billion or $27 billion could be credited to deficit reduction, Snow said. It would take six or seven years to reach a balanced budget under the plan.
"Ignoring its own budget office by way of recommendation, the Congress seems destined to allow the usual 10 percent (increase) to occur and move into the 1991 budget, with the necessity, of course, of increasing taxes and then finding some areas where there is agreement for reduction of expenditures," Snow said.
Both the House and Senate proposals for reducing the deficit ignore a major factor in the creation and continuation of the budget deficit: government waste resulting from ineffective programs, waste and mismanagement, Snow said.
There are around 100 federal programs that have the potential to "explode into the same kind of crisis that arose out of the S&L and HUD disasters," Snow said.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, for example, which is responsible for insuring private pension plans has found that under-funding of pension plans by 50 major companies represents a potential risk to the federal government of about $14 billion. Such companies include General Motors, Kellogg Co., American Airlines and RJR/Nabisco, Snow said.
"As in the case of the S&Ls, taxpayers could be left holding the bag for the financial mismanagement of private companies," he said.
Collecting just one-fourth of the more than $125 billion in outstanding debt owed to the government by individuals, students and farmers, small businessmen and veterans would provide the government with a one-time windfall of $30 billion, according to Snow.
Snow supports expenditure reduction measures proposed by the Citizens Against Government Waste, which drew upon recommendations of the Grace Commission, the General Accounting Office and the Congressional Budget Office. Those measures, which would reduce expenditures by $25 billion, include: overhauling the defense procurement process; reducing agriculture subsidies; reforming the Davis-Bacon Act, eliminating the franking privilege for mass mailings and reauthorizing the Paperwork Reduction Act.
Snow also said he supports a presidential line-item veto and limiting Congressional terms to no more than 12 years.
"I come to this task with a certain amount of confidence and yet humility," Snow said. "I'm committed to working hard as I've always done in my public service activities."